Previously on ModFab

Monday, February 20, 2006

This Week In Modern Fabulousity - February 20, 2006

In their first official act as intergalactic warriors of culture, I sent the intrepid talent scouts known as the Mod Fab Six out on a scavenger hunt for pure, unadulterated splendiferousness. They've returned with the spoils of their travels, after searching high and low for the essential events of the week ahead. To wit:

Dr. S:The Dancing with the Stars Finale, Thursday night at 8 p.m. EST. The irony of my no-TV self's naming a TV show as her first cultural event isn't lost on me--and I'm not talking about the results show, the "real" finale; at this point, I actually don't want anyone to win, because once someone takes home that mirrorball trophy, there will be one fewer show on television involving really joyous exertion and talent. The part of my soul that was claimed by ballroom dance at my first white-gloved cotillion lesson at age twelve has been utterly entranced by both seasons, and there's almost nowhere I'd rather be this Thursday than glued to my friends' set, wide-eyed with anxiety and (okay, I admit it) hoping Drew will take it all.

Melissa: I don't (can't) dance and I gave up dance music when I gave up my first (dance music-loving) husband. Some impulse, however, led me to listen to the latest, completely fabulous Bananarama album called Drama. It's only an import right now, but worth every penny of the $31.98 it costs from Amazon. If it can get this rhymically challenged white girl out on the floor, imagine what it will do for ModFab's more talented readers?

Nathaniel: Living in this image-saturated world we often absorb cultural touchstones without realizing it; context and understanding require more effort. This week you can stop wondering how you instantly knew that the infectiously trippy opening sequence of Triplets of Belleville was riffing on Josephine Baker and see the actual icon in all her live-action glory at the Museum of the Moving Image. Replace the caricature with the real thing.

Nick: From Sunday through Tuesday, the lucky munchkins of Hartford, CT can hop over to Cinestudio to catch the same glorious print of Bernardo Bertlocci's The Conformist that was so ravishing at NYC's Film Forum last summer. Easily one of the best-regarded and most stunningly beautiful movies that you still can't rent on VHS or DVD, it's a stunning piece about the links between fascist politics and repressed sexuality; even when its ideas get a little rigid, you can't, and shouldn't, look away.

Par3182: My chosen event is a little in the future, to enable readers to book in advance...an event sure to make Lureen Newsome-Twist's blood boil. The brilliantly named 2006 Cowtown Gay Rodeo comes to Fort Worth, Texas from March 2-5, so dust off those scootin' boots and latent desires and make a weekend of it.

Stinkylulu: It's sad but true; I'm piddling myself with excitement about the Project Runway double-feature this Wednesday. First, there's the inanity of the "Reunion" show but -- truth be told -- my crocheted knickers are really in a twist for Project Jay, the 1-hour distillation of Runway 1 winner Jay McCarroll's encounter with his 15-minute clock. Honestly, it's like a 2-hour realiTV trainwreck. And I can't WAIT!